Tag: Ecology

The last time we wrote about the hazel dormouse was this time last year, just as the UK ecology season was drawing to a close. You can check out that post here. Now, we’re at that time again and we’re not quite sure where the year has gone. In fact, we’ve just made our annual…

The Search for a Lantern Bug The day before we were due to leave Danau Girang Field Centre in Borneo, and after a week of searching high and low for one, we found this beautiful lantern bug. We came across it on the buttress roots of a tree near the jetty at the field centre….

The ecology field season in the Northern Hemisphere was drawing to a close, so Tom and I jumped on a plane and began our annual pilgrimage south. As a perfect break in our journey, we decided to spend a week in Borneo exploring the jungle from a field centre Tom had visited as a university…

For some time now, we’ve been meaning to visit the remnant population of native red squirrels on Brownsea Island here in England. Last week, the opportunity finally arrived when a number of bat surveys came up in Poole, the town’s harbour in which Brownsea Island is located. Getting to Brownsea Island During the day between…

In this post, we want to share with you another beautiful Sphingid, the broad-bordered bee hawk-moth (Hemaris fuciformis). It is nationally scarce in the UK and restricted to small areas, so we were pretty excited to see it in Spain.

After a 4-hour drive home after a few days away, we finally pulled onto the drive. With a sigh and a conscious mustering of energy, I attempted to swing myself from the car. Emma, sat in the passenger seat, suddenly pointed out of the window at the front wall of the house and said, ‘ruby-tailed wasp!’ I was…

We started this blog last year in November. Since then, this is the first month that we have surpassed the 1000 view mark. We just wanted to write a short blog post to you all to say, ‘Thank you!’ Below are some interesting statistics about our blog’s journey so far: We…

What a heatwave we’ve been having here in the UK over last few days! All of this sunshine has meant plenty of time outdoors enjoying Britain’s wonderful flora and fauna. Our most recent wanderings took us along roadside verges in search of Britain’s native orchids. Who would have thought that these verges would be one…

When it comes to wildlife photography and knowing about your local species, it really pays to spend a lot of time outdoors. Whilst Emma was off working away and single-handily saving European protected species, I, left to my own devices, decided to go for a afternoon stroll. I was sat on a hill watching the world with…

Like is the story with so many species, the great crested newt has suffered at the hands of habitat modification, primarily in the form of agricultural intensification. Due to this, their populations declined markedly during the latter part of the twentieth century. And, although they are currently widespread, there is cause for concern because populations are still being lost or damaged.

After an adventurous Malaysian jungle experience, we were back in the 4×4 heading out of the forest and soon bouncing our way down the dusty tracks surrounded by oil palm plantations. I had one more ask of our extremely patient guide and friend, Mr Lam. Several days earlier on the way into Endau Rompin National Park, we…